Problems
by Na-Na-Nessa
Summary: Lexa has a problem. She wants to make Clarke feel better but isn't quite sure how to go about it, so Octavia tries to help. Short, cute, one-shot. Clexa


_**Hello!**_

 _ **This is just a cute little, Clexa one-shot I did while waiting for Thanksgiving foodz!**_

 ** _Excuse any mistakes, and enjoy!_**

 ** _Happy Holidays!_**

* * *

Octavia was patrolling the woods, keeping an eye out for anything unusual when she began to hear mumbling. She pulled out her sword, crouching slightly as she made her way to the nearest tree, and peeked out.

Immediately, she saw the Commander in a small clearing, slightly pacing and seeming to be talking to herself.

"Lexa?" Octavia finally stepped out, and the ruthless leader immediately whipped around; sword already in hand, and her defense mode kicked on. She had been so preoccupied with her thoughts that she hadn't heard Octavia until she came out from the tree. She relaxed and straightened up as Octavia put her own sword away.

"Octavia." she nodded to her, sheathing her sword and clasping her hands behind her back. Her features were tight, as if she had just been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to.

"What are you doing out here, Commander?" Octavia asked, looking around for a moment.

"That is none of your concern," Lexa said harshly through her teeth, and Octavia put her hands up in surrender.

"Alright, no need to bite my head off."

"I have no intentions of biting you," Lexa said, and Octavia ignored her literalness.

"Well, did you need help with anything, or…?" Octavia trailed off, her curiosity itching to know why the Commander was out here alone...and talking to herself.

" _No. Gon we." No._ _Leave._ Lexa turned away from her; her tone firm.

However, Octavia wasn't going to give up that easy.

"Are you alright? Is something wrong?" she asked, and it was silent as she stared at the Commander's back. She seemed tense. "Lexa...you can tell me." she tried more gently, hoping her words sounded sincere.

Finally, Lexa's shoulders dropped as she sighed and turned around.

"Yes, I do...have a problem."

"Well, what's up?" Octavia asked, trying to keep the smile from her face that the Commander was opening up to her.

Lexa looked up confused. "Nothing but the sky, Octavia. Why do you ask?" she questioned with a creased brow, looking back at her, and Octavia rolled her eyes.

"It's slang for 'what is going on', Lexa," she said, trying not to laugh, and Lexa nodded her head.

"I see."

"So, let's try this again," Octavia crossed her arms, "What's going on?"

"Well, you see..." Lexa hesitated, eyeing Octavia with uncertainty for a moment, who raised her brows, urging her to continue. "Clarke has seemed troubled lately, so I want to...show Clarke my appreciation to make her feel better."

"Your appreciation?" Octavia questioned, and Lexa slightly clenched her jaw.

"I do not like repeating myself, Octavia."

"Sorry," Octavia tried not to become irritated, because this was obviously something troubling Lexa. "Well, then what's the problem?" she asked, not quite fully understanding.

Lexa sighed again, though it wasn't directed towards the new warrior. "I do not...know how to approach it."

"What do your people usually do?" Octavia tilted her head slightly.

"Bring them the fang of a freshly killed beast. However, I feel like Clarke would not like that much, nor do I feel like that is enough for someone like her," Lexa said, her brow creased heavily with doubt.

As Octavia stared at the Commander's troubling face, it finally clicked. She had an interest for Clarke, —well, she knew that already with those intense longing stares she always gave the blonde, but she wanted to do something to make Clarke feel better.

"Why are you smiling so?" Lexa eyed her, and it only made Octavia's smile widen.

"I understand now, Commander." she nodded. "Perhaps...I could tell you how the Sky People 'show their appreciation'? It's really simple, and I think this would definitely make Clarke feel better." she smirked, and Lexa's eyes filled with interest and curiosity.

"Continue..." she gave Octavia her full attention.

"Okay, so this is what you do..."

* * *

Clarke sat on a fallen log not too far from Camp Jaha, staring at the unfinished sketch of the grounded Ark Station and landscape, and sighed. She just didn't quite feel like finishing it today. She didn't really feel like doing anything at the moment. At first she had wondered why she was feeling so...down lately, until she finally realized it the day of —thanks to the system on The Ark still keeping track of the date— that today was her late father's birthday. She had a feeling she knew it was coming, but she had just tried to distract herself and not think about it. Even though she had accepted that he was never coming back, it still brought a gloomy cloud over her head. She just wanted today to be over with.

Although she hadn't seen her mother at all on this day, she didn't really wish to see her anyway, and was thankful that her mother's job kept her busy.

She sighed once more, trying to find the motivation to keep sketching, but only continued to stare at her incomplete work.

"Clarke."

She knew that voice all too well, and looked up just in time to see Lexa approach her.

"Hello, Lexa," she greeted her softly as the Commander sat down next to her. "What's up?"

"—Nothing is going on," Lexa immediately responded with a stern face, almost as if she were hiding something, and Clarke raised a brow.

"O...kay..."

"How are you feeling, Clarke?" Lexa pressed on, and for a moment Clarke thought she knew what today was, but quickly remembered that Grounders didn't mark days, nor did she ever tell her much about her father.

"Okay, I guess." she shrugged, and looked out over the camp once more. "Just waiting for this day to be over and done with."

"Why is that?" Lexa asked her, and as Clarke turned to look at her, she couldn't help but smiling gently at the concern in the leader's eyes, and the way her body was slightly turned towards her, giving Clarke her full attention.

"Well...do you know what birthdays are?" she asked her, and Lexa nodded.

"The days when a mother is ready to birth a child."

Clarke chuckled gently. She loved how literal Grounders were, and coming from such an intimidating leader, it was rather adorable.

"Yes..." she nodded slowly, trying to find the right way to put it. "But my people do this...uh, ritual, every year to celebrate the day a person was born."

"Every year?" Lexa tilted her head, but Clarke didn't want to dive too far into the developed methods of measuring time.

"Uhm," her eyes searched the ground as if the answer was hidden among the grass, "Lets say a person was born on the first day Winter starts, then they go through all of the seasons and it is the first day of Winter again, we would call that a year, making that baby one year old. Then, the next first day of Winter would mark them two years old. Do you understand?" she tilted her head, hoping she didn't confuse the Commander too much.

"I believe so. But..." she trailed off, her brow creased. "How do I know how old I am then?" she turned with hard curious eyes, and Clarke smiled.

"Since we're not sure what day you were born, I'm going to take a guess and say you are around twenty years old."

"You believe I have survived twenty years?" Lexa questioned, and looked away. "That seems like a lot of...years. What makes you think so?"

"Well...I think we're the same age, give or take a few years. You just...look it, if that makes sense," Clarke made a face, "Like how you can look at a child and know it is younger than you, or an aged man and know they are older."

"I understand." Lexa nodded, and Clarke could see her mind working for a moment. "Perhaps we should start marking birth-days."

"You could. My people could show your people how we keep track of days and years and then you could celebrate." Clarke smiled, which brought back the thought of her father, and her smile slowly disappeared.

"You look upset, Clarke." Lexa immediately noticed, and Clarke simply shrugged.

"I guess I am."

"Why?" The Commander questioned, her tone firm as if she would hunt down and slay the very thing making Clarke upset.

She knew she could tell Lexa, it wasn't like it was a secret or anything of the like, and she sighed.

"Today is my father's birthday."

"But he is dead...?" there was confusion laced in her voice.

"Yes, I just mean, it _would_ have been his birthday today," she avoided her eyes and instead stared out at the camp once more.

"And you are upset that he is not alive to celebrate it?" Lexa asked, and all Clarke could do was nod.

This was starting to bring her down more as silence settled between them, and she cleared her throat, shuffling her feet slightly.

"Uhm, was there something you needed? I never asked why you came over here."

"Actually, yes. I...noticed you had been looking rather upset lately," she said slowly, not looking at Clarke, and there almost seemed to be a hint of hesitation in her voice, or rather...nervousness?

"Oh?" Clarke urged her to continue, curious.

"And...I wanted to do something to make you feel better, so...here it goes," Lexa said, sudden determination coating her voice as she sat up straighter, and finally looked towards Clarke, confidence in her eyes.

She stared at Lexa cautiously, wondering just what she was going to do. Lexa's quick moment of nervousness followed by determination only made her nervous. She watched as Lexa then held up a loosely closed fist, her palm facing down.

"Clarke," she said, as if she were preparing a speech, but only few words followed. "Hold this."

"What is it?" Clarke asked, unable to remember if she had seen Lexa holding something before they started talking.

" _Hold this,"_ Lexa repeated, and Clarke knew the Commander didn't like to repeat herself, so she held her hand out open underneath Lexa's closed one, waiting for her to drop something into her palm.

Suddenly, Clarke was confused as Lexa opened her hand, and her fingers entwined with her own. She stared at their hands for a moment, and realization slowly dawned on her.

Immediately, Clarke busted up laughing.  
"Did this work, then? I was unsure when Octavia told me to do this," Lexa said, but her face seemed slightly confused as Clarke was nearly in tears.

"Wow, Octavia told you to do this?" Clarke tried to suppress her laughter. "That seems like something she would do!"

"What do you mean?" Lexa tilted her head. "Is this not what your people do to make each other feel better?"

"Yes, and...well, kinda no, but mostly yes." Clarke wiped away her tears with her free hand, and the confusion on Lexa's face only grew at her words. "—Lexa...Octavia tricked you into tricking me."

"How so?" Lexa's brow creased heavily, not seeming amused in the slightest.

"She taught you a trick that would trick me into holding your hand. Something that people who are...uh, _together_ would do," Clarke said the last bit with a blush as she glanced away.

When she looked back, Lexa was staring hard at her for a moment, her jaw working. "No one makes a fool of me," she said through clenched teeth, and suddenly stood up and unsheathed her sword, surprising Clarke. "I will cut off her hand as well as her tongue!"

"What? —No!" Clarke immediately tightened her grip on the Commander's hand, stopping her from walking away. She hadn't seen that reaction coming.

"She made a fool of me, Clarke. No one makes a fool of me and lives," she warned dangerously, her eyes set to kill.

"No, no, Lexa, she didn't do it with cruel intentions," Clarke said with slight pleading in her voice as she stood up, wrapping her other hand around Lexa's arm so she had another hold on her. She still wanted to laugh, especially at Lexa's anger, but forced it back.

"She didn't?" Lexa raised a brow, looking skeptical.

"She did it with good intentions and playfulness. I swear." Clarke nodded. "She had you do it so you would hold my hand, which is anything but cruel."

"Does it make you feel better, Clarke?" Lexa bluntly asked, unblinking, and suddenly Clarke stopped, looking down at their hands.

She knew they were holding hands, but the joke and Lexa's abrupt kill mode distracted her from how it felt up until this moment, and butterflies immediately clenched her stomach as she realized they were _holding hands._

Her grip was firm, but her hand was soft, despite being a warrior, as well as the leader of warriors. Her hand was warm, and it didn't feel out of place in Clarke's hand, as if it was meant to be there, and she finally looked up at Lexa, who was still watching Clarke intently.

She nodded, a smile forming on her lips.

"It does."

"Then, Octavia shall be rewarded instead of punished." Lexa nodded, and sheathed her sword. "Come, let us sit and I will continue to hold your hand," she ordered, and brought Clarke back to the log.

They sat closer this time, their sides pressing into one another, and as the did silently, Clarke realized that it truly did make her feel better. She felt warm inside.

"Never have I been fooled with good intentions, nor have I ever spared those who have tried to trick me." Lexa looked to her, and Clarke smiled. "Your people are strange."

Clarke dropped her smile to playfully glare at Lexa, and rolled her eyes with a laugh.

"And yours aren't? Normally when someone plays a trick on another they don't threaten to cut their hands or tongues off," she said as she looked down at their hands. They were resting on their pressed thighs.

"Tell me, Clarke. Why does this gesture make one feel better?" Lexa asked her, genuine curiosity in her voice as she, too, gazed at their hands.

"Well..." Clarke tried to think, and she pulled their clasped hands into her own lap, gently tracing the soft skin on the back of Lexa's hand with her free fingers. "Have you ever seen a child hold their mother's hand?" she asked, looking up.

"Yes, but you are not a child," Lexa pointed out, and Clarke had to chuckle. She was going to need to teach these people a thing or two about comforting another.

"No, but it's the sense of comfort and security… You just feel safer."

"Do I make you feel safer, Clarke?" Lexa then asked, and Clarke's eyes found their way to those intense green ones. She stared at her for a moment, not because she needed to think about the answer, but because she already knew it, and soaked up the feelings Lexa was giving her.

"Yes, you do."

Finally, a soft smile reached Lexa's lips.

"I like the feel of your hand in mine," she said, which made Clarke's heart beat a little faster than she realized it already was, and tightened her grip slightly.

However, confusion washed over Lexa's face once more; her mind working behind those steely eyes.

"Should I hold my warriors' hands if they are feeling scared?" she asked, looking back at her.

"Uhm...probably not." Clarke shook her head.

"Why?"

"Because it's...a gentle gesture." Clarke said, and Lexa nodded.

"They might perceive it as weak," she said, catching on.

"And..." Clarke trailed off, feeling slightly nervous to continue.

"What is it?" Lexa pressed her.

"Well...it might cause jealousy if you're just holding anyone and everyone's hands. As I said before, mostly people who are...together hold hands..." she glanced away, but her eyes returned to Lexa's face, wanting to see her reaction, and was a bit surprised when she found a smirk forming.

"Are you saying you would be jealous, Clarke?" she asked her, and Clarke felt her cheeks blush.

"Maybe."

"Then, I vow to only hold your hand...to keep you safe," she said, her features soft as she looked into Clarke's eyes.

Clarke swallowed hard. It was rare to see this softer side of Lexa that sometimes she forgot it existed, but it was nearly overwhelming when she got to experience them.

"However, if I see you holding the hand of another, I will cut theirs off," she said firmly as she looked out towards the camp as if she were threatening them with her eyes; her stoic features taking away the softness, but Clarke's heart swelled. She knew what she meant.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few more moments, until Lexa spoke up again.

"Does this also mean we are together, Clarke?" she asked her, causing butterflies to stir in her stomach at every mention of her name, but nervousness increased her heart beat.

"I don't...know. What do you think?" Clarke asked sheepishly, afraid to look at the Commander.

"I think I would very much like this," she raised their hands slightly, "to mean true. If you feel the same," she said, looking towards her.

"I would too." Clarke nodded, and Lexa genuinely smiled.

"Good. I will make the announcement," she said, beginning to stand up.

"Wait," Clarke stood up as well, and Lexa cast cautious eyes towards her.

"Yes?"

"Would you like to get Octavia back first?" she asked, a sly smile on her lips.

"Get her back from where?" Lexa's brow creased.

"No, I mean get revenge? We don't want her to think her trick worked so smoothly now, do we?" Clarke cocked an eyebrow, and Lexa's chin dropped down as a smirk tugged at her own lips.

"I like the way you think, Clarke. Another good reason to make you mine. Let's go."

They began to head back to form a plan to get revenge on Octavia, ideas beginning to buzz.

"Uhm, Lexa," Clarke stopped.

"What is it, Clarke?" Lexa turned to her.

"You have to let go of my hand."

"This displeases me."


End file.
